Can a Craftsman battery be charged on a DeWalt charger using the adapter?

No. The adapter powers the tool only, has no charging circuit, and must never be placed in a charger. Charge Craftsman packs on the Craftsman charger.

Which Craftsman battery works with an InstantVap oxalic acid vaporizer?

Any Craftsman V20 lithium pack with the Craftsman-to-DeWalt adapter on a DeWalt-socket InstantVap. The Lite runs on a 2 or 4 Ah kit pack; the Compact and Original work best on 4 Ah or larger. The older 19.2 V C3 and pre-2017 Bolt-On packs do not fit.

Are Craftsman and DeWalt Batteries Interchangeable? Adapter Guide

Are Craftsman and DeWalt Batteries Interchangeable?

No. A Craftsman V20 battery will not slide onto a DeWalt 20V MAX tool, and a DeWalt pack will not slide onto a Craftsman tool. They are the same voltage, they come from the same parent company, and the battery rails are deliberately different. The fix, if you want to run a DeWalt-socket tool on the Craftsman packs you already own, is a $25 snap-on adapter.

We get this question several times a week, because the InstantVap oxalic acid vaporizer is sold with a DeWalt socket and a lot of beekeepers run Craftsman in the truck. Here is the whole picture.

The short version

Same voltage: Craftsman V20 and DeWalt 20V MAX are both 18-volt nominal lithium packs (20 V is the no-load number on the label).

Different interface: the slide rails and latch are different, so the packs physically do not fit each other's tools.

The fix: a Craftsman-to-DeWalt battery adapter lets a Craftsman V20 pack power any DeWalt-socket tool, including the InstantVap Original, Compact and Lite. It powers the tool only; it never charges.

Fifty-seven seconds on batteries: which packs run an InstantVap, and where the Craftsman adapter comes in.

Why two 20-volt batteries from the same company don't fit

Stanley Black & Decker owns both brands. DeWalt is the professional line; Craftsman, since 2017, is the homeowner line sold mostly through Lowe's and Ace. Inside the packs the cells and the chemistry are close cousins. What differs is the plastic: the rail spacing, the latch position and the terminal layout on a Craftsman V20 pack do not match a DeWalt 20V MAX tool, and that is on purpose. Each brand sells you its own batteries and chargers.

That is why the search for "do Craftsman batteries fit DeWalt" always ends at an adapter. The electronics are compatible. The shape is not.

Craftsman V20 vs DeWalt 20V MAX

	Craftsman V20	DeWalt 20V MAX
Nominal voltage	18 V	18 V
"Max" voltage on the label	20 V	20 V
Chemistry	Lithium-ion	Lithium-ion
Parent company	Stanley Black & Decker	Stanley Black & Decker
Battery rails and latch	Craftsman pattern	DeWalt pattern
Fits the other brand's tools directly?	No	No
Charger	Craftsman V20 charger only	DeWalt 20V charger only
With an adapter	Runs DeWalt-socket tools	Runs Craftsman tools with a third-party adapter (we don't sell that one)

The adapter: Craftsman battery into a DeWalt-socket tool

Our Craftsman-to-DeWalt 20V battery adapter is a small ABS block. A Craftsman V20 pack snaps onto the bottom; the top slides into any DeWalt 20V MAX tool socket. Nothing is wired, nothing is modified, and it comes back off in a second. We make it in our Baltimore shop and it usually ships the same day.

Three things to know before you order:

It powers the tool only. It does not charge a battery and it must never go into a charger. Charge your Craftsman pack on the Craftsman charger as usual.
It works in one direction. Craftsman battery, DeWalt tool. It will not let a DeWalt battery run a Craftsman drill. That is a different part, and we do not sell it.
V20 only. The red V20 lithium line fits. The older 19.2 V C3 packs and the pre-2017 Craftsman 20 V "Bolt-On" packs do not.

What this means if you own, or want, an InstantVap

The InstantVap oxalic acid vaporizers are sold by battery socket: DeWalt 20V, Milwaukee M18, Makita 18V LXT, Ridgid, Bosch or Metabo HPT. There is no Craftsman socket. If your batteries are Craftsman, order the DeWalt-socket version of the Lite, Compact or Original and add the adapter. The Turbo is a different socket design and the adapter is not recommended for it.

Battery size matters more than brand. The Lite is happy on the 2 Ah or 4 Ah pack that came with your drill kit. The Compact and Original pull harder and want 4 Ah or more; a 2 Ah Craftsman pack will run a few hives and then sag. Expect roughly 20 hives per charge on a 5 Ah pack at a 2 g dose in mild weather, and fewer in the cold. The adapter adds about an inch below the vaporizer, which is rarely an issue at a hive entrance.

Ryobi owners: the same idea exists for you, the Ryobi-to-DeWalt adapter, for the same three DeWalt-socket models.

Craftsman battery compatibility, in one chart

You have	You want to run	Works?
Craftsman V20 battery	Craftsman V20 tool	Yes, directly
Craftsman V20 battery	DeWalt 20V MAX tool or DeWalt-socket InstantVap	Yes, with the Craftsman-to-DeWalt adapter
DeWalt 20V MAX battery	DeWalt-socket InstantVap	Yes, directly (XR and FlexVolt; Powerstack is not recommended)
DeWalt 20V MAX battery	Craftsman V20 tool	Only with a third-party DeWalt-to-Craftsman adapter
Craftsman 19.2 V C3 or old 20 V Bolt-On	Anything DeWalt	No
Ryobi 18V ONE+ battery	DeWalt-socket InstantVap	Yes, with the Ryobi-to-DeWalt adapter

Questions beekeepers ask

Do Craftsman batteries fit DeWalt tools?
Not directly. The voltage matches but the rails do not. A Craftsman-to-DeWalt adapter solves it in one snap.

Do DeWalt batteries fit Craftsman tools?
Not directly either. Third-party adapters exist for that direction; we only make the Craftsman-to-DeWalt one because that is what InstantVap owners need.

Can I charge a Craftsman battery on a DeWalt charger with the adapter?
No. The adapter has no charging circuit and should never be put in any charger. Use the charger that came with the pack.

Will the adapter hurt the battery or the tool?
It is a passive pass-through; it adds no load of its own. Use a battery with enough capacity for the tool and treat it the same way you would a native pack.

Are Craftsman V20 and DeWalt 20V MAX the same battery inside?
Same voltage and the same family of cells from the same parent company, but they are not identical packs, and the housings are intentionally incompatible.

Which Craftsman pack should I buy for an InstantVap?
For the Lite, the kit pack you already have. For the Compact or Original, 4 Ah or 5 Ah.

Tools We Use (and Recommend)

Craftsman-to-DeWalt 20V battery adapter: $25, made in Baltimore, runs a Craftsman V20 pack in any DeWalt-socket InstantVap.
InstantVap oxalic acid vaporizers: Lite $349, Compact $445, Original $495, Turbo $550, on the tool battery you already own. Lorob Bees is the primary US seller, with a two-year warranty and in-house repair after that.
Ryobi-to-DeWalt adapter: the same fix for Ryobi 18V ONE+ packs.
Not sure which model? The InstantVap Sizer answers it from your hive count.

Are Craftsman and DeWalt Batteries Interchangeable? (No, and the $25 Adapter That Fixes It)